PATERSON — After several years of layoffs, the school district is looking to create 44 jobs in its preliminary 2018-19 budget, while investing $1 million in a reading program for its youngest students.

The proposed $587 million budget includes money for 20 part-time truant officers, security cameras at four schools, and an intervention program for students struggling in math, according to a district report.

In all, there are $6 million in “new initiatives” that acting Paterson Schools Superintendent Eileen Shafer has worked into the budget to reverse cutbacks from the last eight years.

“We’ve been doing so much cutting, it’s good that we can finally be adding some things,” said Board of Education President Oshin Castillo.

Shafer’s initial budget additions totaled $9.2 million in new programs and supplies along with about $3.1 million for new jobs. She scaled it back and said some some programs or jobs would be implemented in phases.

“We’ve been doing so much cutting, it’s good that we can finally be adding some things.”

Board of Education President Oshin Castillo

Her original plan called for spending $3.2 million on electronic devices for every student in Grades 7 through 12. Instead, the district will spend $1.1 million on electronic devices in 2018-19 and the remainder spread out over the next two years.

Where are funds coming from?

A $20 million increase in state aid will pay for the new initiatives, according to the district, which will also borrow up to $13.5 million over five years — a move some school board members have criticized as unwise — in order to balance the budget without layoffs.

Shafer said the district is still playing catch-up after being underfunded by the state by more than $280 million over the past seven years. “We can’t make all that up with $20 million,” she said.

Budget problems forced the district to eliminate more than 500 jobs during the past three years. More than half the cuts were in teaching positions.

“People hear we got $20 million and they think: Wow, that’s a lot of money,” Castillo said. “But they don’t understand. We’re still in a difficult situation.”

Included in the budget

New 2018-19 jobs include 19 in teaching — nine for music, four for art, two for bilingual, two for world languages and two for physical education. The list includes two librarians, two behaviorists for children with special needs and a new director of special education position.

The new reading program will be given to every student from kindergarten through third grade, said Eric Crespo, the district’s associate chief academic officer. For years, Paterson education advocates have cited low language arts scores as evidence that the district needs to do a better job teaching its youngest students to read.

The program costs about $3 million for textbooks, supplies and teacher training, according to the district. The upcoming year’s budget includes $1 million for the reading initiative. But district officials said they will get the full $3 million worth of the program in the first year and pay it off over three years without interest.

Math intervention will be provided to 6,000 middle school students and 1,500 taking high school-level Algebra I class, said Joanna Tsimpedes, the district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction.

The math intervention program came about after 91 percent of Paterson’s high school students failed the state’s standardized math test last year.

The school board is holding a public budget hearing April 11. Anyone who wants to review the budget should make arrangements at the district’s headquarters on April 5 by calling 973-321-0980.